In 1904, Medellín businessman Gabriel Posada Villa and pharmacist Valerio Tobón Olarte formed the partnership Posada & Tobón to manufacture soft drinks that would be cheaper than the expensive imports then only available.

Their Kola Champaña proved popular at the hotels, cafes and night clubs in Colombian cities still recovering from the civil war known as the Thousand Days' War. Within two years the company was able to expand with two new bottling plants in Cali and Manizales, and three years after that in Bogotá, making deliveries to restaurants by mules or horse and wagon.

The Medellín chamber of commerce produced this short video biography of Valerio Tobón and the beginning of Postobón:

Soon the company expanded its product line with flavors such as Cerveza de Uva in 1909, Popular in 1912 (still available today!), Freskola and Espumosa in 1919. In 1918 an expensive ultraviolet sterilization technique allowed the company to bottle Agua Cristal still water and Bretaña sparkling water.

Until recently the Postobón logo featured a seltzer bottle adding carbonated water to a glass of syrup, which was presumably how the original drinks were made on the spot at soda fountains or bars. By 1918 the drinks were sold in bottles sealed with crown caps, improving distribution of the sodas nationwide.

An orange-flavored soda was added to the lineup in 1950, and apple two years later. The company bottling plants also served as local franchise bottlers of Coca-Cola for many years.

Colombiana started as a separate brand in 1921, which was later purchased along with La Leona soft drink brands and merged into Posada & Tobón in 1942. In 1951 the company merged its namesakes into Refrescos Postobón. In 1968 the company acquired the Gaseosas Lux soft drink company.

The Tamarindo, Uva, and Piña flavors were originally brands created by Gaseosas Lux and subsequently added to the Postobón line.

With this last merger, Lux employee Carlos Ardila Lülle was appointed president of Postobón, adding the company to his conglomerate Ardila Lülle Organization which would grow to become one of Colombia's largest. The bottler now produces over 35 different brands and is an active sponsor of sports teams in Colombia.

Review

A tart soda, tangy & sour, with little smell to it. Its strong flavored but not as sweet as I'd expected. Its got a fruity taste with the sour which is like a hidden reward.

Its pretty refreshing, sugary & sour in just the right amounts. Its not as candy-like as some other Latin American sodas, which I like.